Militant/John Steele

GUELPH, Ontario—Some 700 farmers rallied at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture building here February 14 demanding government action to implement a “Risk Management Program” to increase income for farmers. Commodity prices have fallen, while input costs like fuel and fertilizer have risen sharply. The action was built by a coalition of farmers from different produce sectors called Farmers Feed Cities! Arriving in buses and driving tractors, pickup trucks, and tractor-trailers with farm machinery, the farmers, many of whom produce crops of corn, soybeans, and wheat, came from many parts of rural and southwestern Ontario. “How would you feel about going to work and having to pay to do that every day?” Aarron Legge told the Militant. “We need a long-term plan, not a band-aid.” Legge was referring to the fact that many farmers ended the last growing season with a negative income. The action was one of several organized over the past couple of months by Farmers Feed Cities! Another demonstration is being planned for March 9.

—JOHN STEELE  
 
 
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